mrbrown.com

Now that is a photobomb

This is Kim Jong-Un on some PR visit to an orphanage. Some brave soul decided to add a little photobomb into the scene. You would miss it if someone didn't point it out to you.

[via http://mrbrwn.co/1piUTem]

Orphan Black: Korea Edition

At first glance, the new contestants for the 2014 Miss Korea competition look eerily like clones.

It reminds me of this gif made of 2013's contestants.

On further investigation, it seems the guilty party was a heavy-handed photoshop artist.

You can see the rest of the After and Before photos at this link.

Who hired sotong commentators for the WTA Finals in Singapore?

Firstly congratulations to Serena Williams for winning the finals in Singapore.

Secondly, where did they find the geographically-challenged commentators for the WTA Finals?

I think some of us were gobsmacked when we heard WTA Finals commentator say "Goodbye! From China!"

Oi! Singapore where got is part of China? China your head lah!

And then friends and readers heard a commentator say that 50% of our population speak Mandarin as the main language, with English as our second language. Simisai?

Then yet another commentator said that this is the first time Singapore has had live telecasts of major tennis tournaments.

What The Finals, man.

Update: The commentator Kevin Skinner, has apologized for the China remark.

Hello 東京, once again

This is the scene that greeted me when I landed in Narita after a redeye flight from Singapore. Rain, gray skies and cold weather. The only thing that cheered me up was the sign that said "Free wifi in Narita".

The SQ flight itself to Tokyo was great. New entertainment system and the usual great service. I had a whole row of seats to myself too. I watched A Million Ways to Die in the West by Seth MacFarlane, and found a million ways to die of boredom from that movie.

After picking up my rental portable internet router from the airport post office, I donned my down jacket and rain jacket and waited for my 90-minute ride to town. "17°C" said the clock outside. Thank goodness I packed the merino wool stuff.

My hotel in Shinjuku (which shall remain unnamed) didn't have any rooms ready for my early check-in. "After 2pm," they said firmly, even though my booking indicated an early check-in. Ah well, I didn't have much luggage anyway (one small backpack for my clothes and one small satchel for my gear) so I was free to wonder around town.

My personal radar led me to Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku where I did some browsing. I swear I didn't buy a thing. Then a quick lunch (where I saw the above menu item), some more walking, and a coffee with a slice of cheesecake later, I was back at the hotel at 1.59pm to check in.

"After 2pm, please," was the reply.

And so at 2.01pm, myself and the lobby of eating guests surged forward to check-in. The room, I have to say, was small. I felt like Gandalf visiting the Hobbits in their home. Heck, the Hobbits would have found the place claustrophobic.

But a room is a room. I took my shower in a Hobbit-sized half-bathtub in the Hobbit-sized bathroom (I didn't even know they made bath tubs this size) and tried not to knock into anything.

One of my readers who lives here told me the rain was going to last all day. At first I wore my rain jacket but eventually I caved in and bought a ¥513 transparent umbrella for Ryan and me, from the Pharmacy-That-Sells-Everything.

Supper was the nicest meal of the day. Good old ramen from 博多風龍 at Shinjuku area. You can add extra ramen for free.

The guy next to us refilled his bowl three times. Really ate until he got his money's worth.

Oh, and the rain that was going on all day? It stopped soon after we bought our umbrellas. It's all a conspiracy, I tell you.

See What Show: Fury

Fury was a fierce WWII movie. Epic tank battles, killing Nazis, gritty underdogs what's not to like?

The middle was a bit draggy though. The movie is no Inglourious Basterds, even both movies have Brad Pitt in it. Fury takes itself very seriously and sometimes, that drags the pace down.

We get it. War is terrible. People die. Body parts have to be cleaned off the inside of tanks.

When Fury gets to the fighting parts, it is clobbering time. And even it's even more entertaining when you know that the Americans are using peashooter M4A3E8 Sherman tanks against vastly superior German Tiger tanks.

What the Shermans lacked in armor and firepower, it made up for in numbers and reliability. And the ability to travel in water. Shermans were the Zergs to the Tigers who were the over-engineered Protoss.

But the German tanks were truly fearsome beasts and a single Tiger could obliterate several Shermans by itself.

Sherman tanks couldn't penetrate their armor without hitting them from the sides or behind, and in one scene, the movie captures this fight brilliantly.

Watching this makes me want to build model tanks again. And maybe play a WWII game. Maybe Battlefield 1942.

[Photos courtesy of Shaw]

No train service between Marina Bay and Marina Bay?

At first, we thought it was MarinaBayception.

Actually it was guagua-ception.

Somebody going to sign many many extra liao

"GENNERMEN! THE TRAINING MATADOR ANTI-TANK MISSILE LAUNCHER GO WHERE LIAO?"

"Siao liao, Sergeant, I left it at the roadside near Old Chua Kang Rd…"

"YOU LIKE TO GO DB, ISSIT? YOU WANT TO SELL IT AT BEACH ROAD ARMY MARKET ISSIT? GO AND GET IT BACK, YOU CHOW KOTEK!"


TODAY report: http://mrbrwn.co/1wMgCcV

[photo via VoteWisely/HardwareZone]

This just begs to be photoshopped into everyone's favorite army photo…

[photoshopped photo via Jashorn]

By the River Vltava: a Photo Essay

Walking the bridges and river of Prague: brown.exposure.co

Click on the link above or view via the embedded version below.

By the River Vltava by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Me and my new jeans

Truth be told, I haven't been much of a jeans person for a long time. Between cycling to work and traveling, jeans are usually too hot to wear in Singapore, or too heavy to fit into my ultralight packing ways.

So when Uniqlo asked me to try their jeans, I thought, why not? I bought the jeans before my Germany trip last month (only $59.90! Way less than I pay for my branded jeans in factory outlet stores!).

I noticed right away that the material is lighter and stretchier. Wearing them felt comfy and soft, and not warm. What manner of of quality jeans fabric were these?

I read the label and it said it was Kaihara Denim, and it was lovely. It stretched at the right places (there is a touch of spandex in there) and I could wear it all day without feeling discomfort, whether in hot and humid Singapore or the cold mountains of the Bavarian Alps.

I showed the jeans to my wife and she said, ya, she has a few Uniqlo jeans. They are very comfortable and are among her faves, she told me. I didn't even know she owned one, let alone a few pairs.

So far, I have worn the jeans to work, walked the streets of Berlin and Munich, hiked the Untersberg mountain in Austria (it is part of the Berchtesgaden Alps) and even did a few air guitar jumps for fun.

I washed them a few times in the 15 days I was away last month and each time, the jeans dried way faster than my usual all-cotton jeans.

And I don't always get so happy about pants but I liked them so much, I got myself another pair in grey.

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Sixteen Going on Seventeen

One of our favorite Sound of Music songs came on in the car, "I need someone older and wiser, telling me what to do…"

"Remember, you don't need a man telling you what to do when you grow up," I said to Joy, age 8.

"Then why do you tell me what to do?" she retorted.

"It's different. I'm your Pa. I'll always tell you what to do."

The Wife piped in, "The toilet light is broken, dear."

"I'll get it fixed right away," I immediately replied.

Confection

Six-pack

Joy: "Papa, how come you don't have a six-pack?"

Me: "I have. In the fridge."

Joy, squeezing my tummy: "You have flub."

My kids, they keep things real for me.

In case you are wondering, the six-pack I have in the fridge right now is Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc.

Simi Tam Pines?

Siri: "Turn right at Tam Pines Avenue 2."

Hmmm, so Siri pronounces Tampines that way…

Me: "Siri, give me directions to Tam Pines St 12."

Siri: "OK, getting directions to… 10 Pines St, Niceville, FL, USA."

Ah Beng applies for a job

One day Ah Beng decided to apply for a job. They gave him a form to fill.

First Name: "Tan"

Middle Name: "Ah"

Last Name: "Beng"

Sex: "Daily"

Education: "Got"

Salary Expected: "Yes"

Last Position: "Standing"

Desired Position: "Sitting"

Able to Work Shift: "Yes, and Caps Lock too"

What is Your Availability: "Single"

In an Emergency, We Should Call: "Police"

I found the McJagger burger

I bought a Samurai Chicken burger yesterday at McD's and when I unwrapped it, it looked like this.

I think I found Mick Jagger. I also think it was a little rude, what with the tongue and all.

Happy Children's Day, tough love style

Me: "Happy Children's Day, kids!"

Kids: "Yay! Good morning, Papa! We love Children's Day!"

Me: "Ok. Celebrations over. Do your homework and revision."


(Above, Joy shows me her robot made from recycled stuff. When I asked why its name was Yusa, she said, "That was all the letters I had left."

Some responses to my Hong Lim blog post so far…

I didn't expect the #ReturnMyCPF Protesters/YMCA Hong Lim blog post to generate that many comments. In case you don't feel like fading through the more than 240 comments on my blog (and elsewhere), I thought I'd share some of the classy ones I got.

This one is from "Chloe", who writes: "You absolutely lost it. Just because you are unfortunate to give birth to a "special needs child" doesn't give you the right to blaspheme our brave freedom fighters. Get the context right - unless you also have special needs."

I like how Chloe uses the word "unfortunate" to describe our family situation. I assure you, we don't feel unfortunate. We are very happy and blessed to have all our children in our lives. I also like the use of the word "blaspheme". I didn't know I was dealing with messiahs.

Here is another one from "selamat": "…We don't care if your daughter is autistic or why you are suddenly sucking up to the pigs. We do care about your brazen attack on our champions. Bring it on, stop using your children as a shield. You are pathetic."

While hiding behind the shield of internet anonymity, the commenter accuses me of using my children as a shield. It amuses me.

This final one is from Singapore’s very own brave anonymous crusaders, Occupy Singapore. Yes, the ones who same fellows who declared "Occupy Raffles Place" and then didn't turn up. They throw in their 2 cents on my Hong Lim post. It made a small tinkling sound on the pavement.

the mrbrown show: protest park

We wonder what it is like to apply for Hong Lim Park.

Download or listen via the Soundcloud player above or the mrbrown server below:

Play "the mrbrown show: protest park"

Along Upper Serangoon Road one night…

Update: A PUB gentleman called me up a few days later and told me his guys found a blockage in the sewers along the street and cleared it. And gave me his mobile to directly call him if any more blockages or smells happen again. Cool.


Me to LTA hotline, 29th September, Monday, 10.22pm: "Hello, I want to report a nasty smell along Upper Serangoon Road, at the junction of Simon Road. I think it may be sewage. I can see a trail of water on the side of the road running for quite far. Maybe a sewage truck spilled it or a pipe burst somewhere. It is very smelly."

LTA hotline: "Thank you for the feedback. We will inform PUB."

The next day…

PUB hotline calls me, 30th September, Tuesday, 1.21pm: "Hello, you reported a smell at Upper Serangoon Road? Did you see any water flowing out of somewhere?"

Me: "Er, yes, I reported it. No, I did not see any source, just the smell. And a trail of water along the road side."

PUB hotline: "Ok, I will send my man down to investigate now."

Me: "I made this report last night. I think the water dry up already."

Maybe I was two days too early for the new Municipal Services Office hotline.

On the #ReturnMyCPF Protesters disrupting the YMCA event

YouTube link: http://mrbrwn.co/1pAVmlu

I am going to come right out and say this. If my daughter, Faith, who has autism, or any of my kids, had been on stage performing that day at the YMCA event, and Roy Ngerng, Han Hui Hui and gang came over to disrupt the proceedings, I would have taken their signs and placards and shoved the lot up their collective arses.

I don't care what your cause is. You can protest in your own time and your own space. In fact, NParks gave you your own space, the other lawn, at another part of the park. But noooooo, you wanted to target the minister who was attending the event as a guest of honour.

Was Minister of State Teo Ser Luck speaking at a CPF symposium at Hong Lim Park? No, it was a charity carnival for special needs kids by an organization that has absolutely nothing to do with the Gahmen.

Well, you mess with a bunch of special needs kids performing at a charity event, and it will get personal. I am making it personal.

You are not crusaders. You are not freedom fighters. You are not defenders of the downtrodden, Roy and Hui Hui.

As of now, you are a bunch of insensitive wankers who will do anything to get attention, even if it means scaring special needs kids with your antics.

I will leave you with a comment made by a YMCA volunteer about the debacle. I hope you are proud of yourselves, Roy & Co.

Roy Ngerng, on your blog, you even called your farcical event "The Most Groundbreaking Protest in Singapore since 1965".

Buddy, you flatter yourself. People in Hong Kong are getting tear-gassed fighting for democracy. You merely went to a charity carnival and upset some special needs kids.